The secretary-general of the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...

heads the

General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union The General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union (GSC), also known as Council Secretariat, assists the Council of the European Union, the presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Council and the president of the ...

. In October 2022, the Council appointed

Thérèse Blanchet Thérèse Blanchet (born 1962) is the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union, secretary-general of the Council of the European Union. She is French-Swiss. Previously, from 2019 to 2022, she was Legal Counsel of the Council and Eu ...

as the Secretary-General of the Council for a five-year term, from 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2027. Previously, the post holder was also the

High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European U ...

, President of the

European Defence Agency The European Defence Agency (EDA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) that promotes and facilitates integration between member states within the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The EDA is headed by the EU High Represent ...

and the

Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; , UEO; , WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (alliance) , Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 Treaty of Brussels. The WEU implement ...

. The

Treaty of Amsterdam The Treaty of Amsterdam, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; i ...

, which entered into force in 1999, created the office of the

and specified that the Secretary-General would occupy that position simultaneously. Javier Solana exercised both functions from 1999 until 2009. The

Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two Treaty, treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all Member stat ...

, which took effect on 1 December 2009, redefined the post of

High Representative The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European U ...

and again separated it from the office of Secretary-General of the Council. As of 2010, the secretary-general's basic pay is equal to that of a top-tier

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

: €17,697.68 per month.Base salary of grade 16, third step is €17,697.68
European Commission: Officials' salaries
- accessed 19 March 2010COUNCIL DECISION of 1 December 2009 laying down the conditions of employment of the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union
EurLex

List of secretaries-general

References

Political offices of the European Union

Council of the European Union Lists of office-holders {{EU-stub

List of secretaries-general

See also

References